Beyond the Walls
by bubblenebula112
Summary: One-shot. Eager to share his book about the outside world, Armin remembers they day he met his best friends in a dark alley. Takes place before the fall of Shiganshina at the beginning of the series. No pairings.


Beyond the Walls

Armin clutched the book, pages yellowed and corners worn from years of heavy use, against his chest as he carefully treaded into the alley. It had taken weeks to convince his grandfather to take it out of the house, as the Military Police would surely execute them and send Armin away for merely possessing the book. But he had to show Eren the book. His best friend would surely share his fascination with it.

The tall houses towered over the narrow passageway. It was an entirely different world than the bustling marketplaces and sparkling canals of the main courtyards and open spaces. The dark alleys consumed everything that happened within them, as if keeping a secret; the Military Police found it to be below their dignity to stop any crime from happening here. But as unwelcome as they were, he would not have met Eren or Mikasa if it weren't for them.

Armin took a step back, assessing the situation. Two people to the right, blocking the way he came, and one in front of him. He mentally kicked himself for cornering himself; his mother warned against loitering in the sharp turns of the alleys, after all. The corners were death traps.

"Y'know, I see you around here a lot," the tall, muscular blonde jeered, picking at the stains on his shirt. "Don't you know this is our territory?"

The shorter, brown-haired individual continued, "Yeah, why don't ya put that big brain of yours to use? It's the only thing you're good for, anyway. Not like the rest of your weak body is worth much." The three laughed in unison.

"So you admit I'm smarter than you," Armin countered. "You call me weak but at least I don't rely on other people to tell me what to do!"

Armin instantly regretted opening his mouth, taking another step back. _Stupid, stupid! I can fight back with words, but I don't stand a chance against so many people._ He kept eye-contact with the bullies in hopes of showing some sort of confidence while he panicked, thinking of the stories his parents told him to scare him away from using the obscure passageways of the alleys. Disfigured skulls, crimson stains, the rancid smell of rotting flesh in the cracks of the dilapidated sidewalk. The few relatively decent people who stumbled into this place were too apathetic to report gang violence to the police who wouldn't stop to help the first place.

He quickly ducked to avoid the fist that was barreling toward him, but was met by a punch in the abdomen. Body slamming into the wall, grimacing in pain, Armin wildly swung his fist which, surprisingly, contacted a greasy torso.

"Why you little—get him!" one of them growled.

Out of the corner of his eye, Armin could see two figures hurling themselves toward the bullies. They couldn't possibly be coming to help. They had to be part of the gang, but it didn't make sense, they were looked just as young as he. One of them had a dark scowl, the other righteous, a sort of passion that didn't seem exist within most people he had met. But only an absolute maniac or a suicide would run into these alleys solely to help someone like him—

"Cut it out!" the young boy yelled. "Hurting someone like that, it isn't a nice thing to do!"

"Another one? What a treat! Take 'em, Horst!" The blonde leader cried.

Before they could punish the intruders, they screamed and darted down the darker part of the passageway. _Huh? Why would they suddenly run off like that?_ Armin pondered this until he saw the girl behind the brown-haired boy. _Yeesh. I wonder what ruined her day._ As he finished his thought, the two newcomers slowed down to catch their breath, leaning on the wall against him.

"Wow! I showed them, didn't I, Mikasa?" The boy exclaimed, puffing out his chest. His eyes were a stunning electric blue, somehow shimmering even in the absence of broad daylight. He turned to Armin. "Hey, are you alright? My name's Eren, by the way."

Mikasa's intimidating gaze softened, though still retaining its stoicism. "I hope they didn't bother you too much. Those teenagers can be mean." She glanced around warily, adding, "We should probably go before they come back."

Armin gave a timid smile. "Thanks for helping me out. B-but really, I can take care of myself…"

God, he hated his stutter. And he couldn't possibly impose himself on their group. He'd be too much of a burden on the two who were so confident, who had already figured themselves out. He looked down and blushed as tears started welled up in his eyes.

"Hah! Don't worry about it." Eren replied. To Armin's dismay, he noticed the brooding of his new friend. "Really, I mean it. I came here to help, y'know, so you should be happy!" Eren teased.

Just Armin opened his mouth to respond, his stomach growled loudly. He cringed, about to berate himself for embarrassing himself in front of the first people his age who had the potential to be his friends.

Eren replied with a hearty laugh. "I'm starving too! Mikasa and I were going out to the market to find something to eat. Frieda makes some damn good walnut bread. Wanna come with?"

"Watch your mouth," Mikasa joked with feigned exasperation.

Armin watched the two bicker, deciding to tag along. They seemed genuine enough. He, Eren, and Mikasa headed down the twisting road toward the market, leaving behind the darkness and stale air.

Armin rounded the corner and slowed his pace, walking into the courtyard. Children kicked their legs in the gleaming waters of the canals, splashing irritated pedestrians and apologetic mothers alike. He weaved in and out of the crowd, catching tidbits of gossip about the latest romantic exploits of Alecia and conspiracies about the rising price of salt. Almost bumping into a couple, Armin made his way toward Wall Maria to find the hiding place his grandfather had showed him, nestled between the segments of the wall and a large beech tree. He had given Eren the directions to the secret place yesterday, telling him that he was bringing a surprise. He was sure that nobody would find them there.

Vines twisted up the side of Wall Maria, ascending toward the distant, pale yellow sky, out of reach by the inhabitants kept within its boundaries. He had always wondered how the walls came to be. It would've been a technological nightmare to construct such gargantuan structures within the fragile span of time that would allow the continued survival of humanity. Although the walls were a symbol of hope, the epitome of human progress—especially to the Church of the Walls and other such religious groups—he personally never saw them that way. To him, they were simply a defensive mechanism, but their presence was suffocating. A cage to contain his curiosity.

But the walls weren't perfect at permanently sealing humanity away from the outside world. The very existence of the book he was holding was evidence of that. He vowed to discover everything he about the outside he could, if only through text. Creeping around the tree's thick trunk into his personal hideout, he curled up and opened the book in his lap. Eren would be here soon. Armin smiled to himself and began to read once more:

 _Oceans are defined as large bodies of salt water that lie between continents that can reach several kilometers in depth. Covering around 70% of the planet's surface, these bodies were critical in the formation of life. Although it is not known how they formed, many hypothesize that water was gradually brought to Earth by comets and/or created by rudimentary organisms…_

 **Final Comments:**

 **I haven't written fanfiction in a long time, so please bear with me. My skills are rusty, and I'm not very good at writing action or dialogue in general. I'm leaving this as a one-shot for now, but I** ** _might_** **make another chapter that considers more recent events in the series if there's enough interest.**

 **Any feedback is welcome!**


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